Three Priests

The Cain and Abel myth so well played out in East of Eden fails here. Due in part to a waste of talent like Wes Studi and Michael Parks as a Wheezy mumbling, bumbling father figure. The acting is OK but the script-- Ugh. The best thing I can say, is don't waste your time watching this confusing and confused tale of woe. Michael Parks is a talented actor but drove his ducks to a muddy pond on this outing.

I suppose the worst part of the encounter is the slow pace and lack of continuity where the sons either strut, Alexander Martin, or pout, Aaron Duffey. This sad attempt to lay out a family saga in the American Western tradition winds up with little tension and inspires very little interest in the characters. In short, it's boring and that's unforgivable.

Seething with familial conflicts and yearnings, Three Priests offers a powerful journey of affection, fear and fate.

Whatever THAT means.

If you like rambling, incoherent, boring, uninteresting movies. You'll love this one.

It's so slow moving and poorly directed you'll be asleep by 0:03:04.

It's a movie that makes you wonder. Yeah, wonder how some one actually put money up to make it. How someone actually gave this director a job.

I wonder about a lot of things because of this movie. None of them have to do with the picture's message and all of them have to do with why on earth it was ever made.

It's just horrible. Plain and simple.

Director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, etc) has described Michael Parks as the "greatest living American actor" and this film shows why. Parks' performance is altogether staggering and the kind of thing that, were this a big name, big money film -- rather than a low budget Indie -- would get him an Oscar nomination. And the rest of the acting in this film -- which features veterans like Olivia Hussey (Romeo and Juliet) and Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans, The New World) as well as some new faces like Aaron Duffey --is uniformly good. Interestingly, there's a short but exciting performance from James Parks -- Michael's son -- as a bully in a bar. This is also a movie that can easily provide fodder for a few good hours of conversation when it's over.

This is a solid indie. Great acting and good cinematography carry the film. Definitely some faces in there that I recognize. I just saw the budget listed on IMDb and considering that number, this film is an amazing feat. Story drags in spots but payoff is good. I haven't seen a good, spacious movie filmed out west in awhile. My family is from out there, and it's good to see small town west get some justice on the screen. Fires at the end are impressive especially given budget, along with the talent that they were able to get. Have these guys made anything else? I'd definitely recommend checking this one out, and would be interested in seeing other things they've made.